Warning: This review may contain spoilers☺️

Having been pressured into reading the novel on Twitter and TikTok (as one normally is), I decided to give it a shot and see what it was all about. From the onset, I had assumed that infidelity, misogyny and ‘slut-shaming’ would be central elements of the text, but it turned out to be a lot more than that.
This book was certainly one of my favorite reads of 2023. It fearlessly tackles difficult themes such as race and sexuality, which would get it banned in Florida’s libraries. It is not so often that queer people are properly represented in the media, so this book was a refreshing read, that challenged generalisations and stereotypes about queer people, queer women in particular.

A synopsis of the book from Goodreads:

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Now, with that out of the way, let’s move on to an evaluation of her husbands, from worst to best.

7. Don Adler
Now, it would’ve been rather concerning if I hadn’t started out this list with Don Adler. This man was one of the most charming, yet most dislikeable men in the text. The fact that Evelyn “found herself smitten in love and lust for the very first time” with this man then found herself trapped in years of domestic abuse is rather sad. He treated Evelyn like a proper human being only until he had married her, claimed ownership of her. Of this, Hugo comments,

There are people who see a beautiful flower and rush over to pick it. They want to hold it in their hands, they want to own it. They want the flower’s beauty to be theirs, to be within their possession, their control. Don wasn’t like that. At least, not at first. Don was happy to be near the flower, to look at the flower, to appreciate the flower simply being. Here’s the thing about marrying a guy like that—a guy like Don Adler, back then. You’re saying to him, “This beautiful thing you’ve been happy to simply appreciate, well, now it’s yours to own”.

Although Adler later apologised to Evelyn, it is more likely that the apology was out of shame, rather than an expression of his genuine emotions. If his career had not been in the trenches when he apologised, it is unlikely that he would have apologised at all. For that reason, Adler is my least favourite.

6. Mick Riva
This musician was a giant red flag from the very beginning and I find it rather comforting that Evelyn had no genuine love for him. If Evelyn’s entire arrangement with him had not been a ruse to protect herself and her true love, things would’ve ended really badly. I particularly despise Mick for being disingenuous. He used the exact same line to justify his leaving Evelyn, as he had for his wife, Veronica Lowe. This man’s ego, above all else about him is nauseating and he married Evelyn just so he could bed her for one night. The fact that this man collected bodies and wanted to sleep with any gorgeous woman he’d seen is rather telling of his character.

5. Max Girard
What irks me the most about this man is just how similar to Mick he is, in that he wanted to marry Evelyn Hugo for the sake of marrying her, so he could parade her around town like some trophy he’d earned. What particularly stands out about him is the way that he fetishized his own wife, to the extent that he would refer to her using both her name and surname, seeing her as some idol, rather than an actual person. Ew. Evelyn could feel her heart break every time he would stare at her and say, “You’re Evelyn Hugo”. Yuck.

4. Ernie Diaz
I never cared too much about this man. in fact, I almost felt sorry for him , as Evelyn essentially used him as her ticket to Hollywood. She does not appear remorseful about this and states that she did a lot of bad things, which she would do again if she had to. So, Ernie is not necessarily a bad guy. I just don’t care that much about him.

3. Robert Jamison
Again, this was another man I never cared too much about. This marriage confused me in a lot of ways, particularly because I never found it to be necessary. Although Hugo and St James agreed on this marriage for the sake of Evelyn getting to inherit her fortune, I still believe St James could have written Hugo on her will and this wouldn’t have been a huge matter, since they were in Spain. Regardless, Robert was a helpful man, who stood by Evelyn through her grief over Celia’s passing. He also became a father figure to Connor after Harry’s passing, which is admirable.

2. Rex North
I liked Evelyn’s marriage to Rex for what it was, a chaste arrangement that would keep their names out of scandalous conversation topics. Although Rex had his own flaws, I admire the fact that he respected Evelyn’s body and her choices, which Evelyn admits that a lot of men would not have done if they had been told, ‘no’ after making their advances on a woman all alone in a mansion at night. Rex was respectful towards Evelyn and for that, I respect him as well.

1. Harry Cameron
Harry Cameron is the man whom Evelyn says she loved the most out of all her husbands. Because Harry was Evelyn’s best friend, their marriage turned out to be Evelyn’s most meaningful relationship (well, except for her one true love). This was one marriage from which she found home, from which she found a family and from which the most precious human she’d ever known—Connor, her daughter was born. Evelyn’s relationship with Harry was the one that spanned the longest time and they stood by each other through the most difficult times. While their marriage had been out of convenience, they both eventually found a lot of comfort and meaning within it. For that reason, Harry takes the cake.

I hope you enjoyed reading the book as much as I did and if you haven’t, I hope you will despite the spoilers🥴. Let me know your thoughts and check out my Instagram, where I post live updates of what books I’m reading and take recommendations from my followers.
Mkay bye

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